Hamburger History: New Haven, Connecticut

Turns out there is also a place called Louis’ Lunch that has a claim to hamburger history. According to New York magazine, Louis’ Lunch was just a small lunch wagon in New Haven, Connecticut. When asked for a fast, hot meal one day, he had run out of steak for steak sandwiches. Louis instead made ground beef trimmings into a patty, and grilled the patty.

Possible Birthplace of Hamburger History

That was next, of course, served as a sandwich between two slices of toast. So, my fellow burger lovers, that is said to have made hamburger history — potentially the first burger in the U.S.

There is a New York magazine claim that “The dish actually had no name until some rowdy sailors from Hamburg named the meat on a bun after themselves years later,” but how the hamburger got its name is subject to dispute.

Comments

There’s a lot of debate as to who invented the hamburger as we know it today, but that debate kind of ends at Louis’ Lunch, mainly because they’re tired of arguing about it, but also because the Library of Congress declared it so. The tiny joint still uses its original cast-iron grills, which cook the hand-ground patties vertically by blasting them with fire. Want ketchup and mustard? Head to one of the other places that claim to have invented the burger: at Louis’, your options are cheese, tomato, and onion on toast. That’s the way its been since they "invented" the burger back in the day, and that’s how it’ll always be.
Just voted CT’s most iconic restaurant!